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The muscles of the eye are sophisticated structures that control eye movement and focus, allowing for the precise and rapid adjustments necessary for vision. The human eye is controlled by ten muscles — six extraocular muscles, three intraocular muscles, and one primary eyelid retractor muscle.
Extraocular Muscles
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 18, 2026

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

Extraocular muscle afferent signals modulate visual attention.

Daniela Balslev¹, William Newman, Paul C Knox

¹Center of Neurology, Division of Neuropsychology, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. d.balslev@gmail.com

Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science

|September 15, 2012

Summary

Proprioceptive signals from eye muscles influence where we direct our attention in space. This study shows that rotating one eye affects visual target detection in the other eye, impacting spatial attention allocation.

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 18, 2026

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

VisualEyes: A Modular Software System for Oculomotor Experimentation

Published on: March 25, 2011

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

Investigating the Deployment of Visual Attention Before Accurate and Averaging Saccades via Eye Tracking and Assessment of Visual Sensitivity

Published on: March 18, 2019

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Measurement of Neurophysiological Signals of Ignoring and Attending Processes in Attention Control

Published on: July 5, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Ophthalmology
Cognitive Science

Background:

Extraocular muscle afferent signals are crucial for controlling eye movements and localizing objects in space.
The oculomotor system and attention system share close functional links.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate whether proprioceptive signals from extraocular muscles modulate the allocation of spatial attention.
To explore the influence of eye muscle afferents on attention deployment.

Main Methods:

A suction sclera contact lens induced controlled eye rotation in the non-viewing dominant eye.
Participants fixated centrally with their viewing eye and detected targets in either visual hemifield.
Control experiments assessed visual localization accuracy with eye deviation.

Main Results:

Passive rotation of the occluded eye caused lateralized changes in visual target detectability.
Eye rotation altered the speed and accuracy of detecting targets in different visual hemifields.
Control tests indicated a perceived eye position shift consistent with the direction of eye rotation.

Conclusions:

Extraocular muscle afferent signals appear to modulate the deployment of attention within visual space.
These findings suggest a direct link between eye proprioception and spatial attention mechanisms.